Graves
by Foxinstrazt
Summary: Before he met Lara Croft on the hunt for the treasure of Atlantis, Ashlee Graves lived a life of danger and adventure, a thief in the employ of Quinn Galeforth. Throughout his travels, he would cross paths with men like Richard Croft, and Conrad Roth, learning the skills necessary to survive in the darkest parts of the world. [Story is Complete]
1. Chapter 1 - The Son of Man

******Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the following writing except the characters and events I create.**

**Author's Note: This is going to a be a supporting story to my main Tomb Raider fanfic: The Ashes of Time. It will follow the life of Ashlee Graves up to the point where he begins working with Lara Croft. Later on, characters from the rebooted Tomb Raider game will be included, because Ashlee has met them, but I cannot tag them because they are the ones not available on the tag list..which is baffling to me, but oh well! Also, I want to try something new here, so if have any suggestions on what you'd like to know about this character's life, feel free to PM me, I'll try my best to write it into the story at some point! Here you guys go, hope you enjoy! -Foxinstrazt**

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Chapter 1

**-The Son of Man-**

_**The Ravendale Residence, Outskirts of Towcester**_

_**September, 2004**_

Sitting against the low stone wall, the young man ran a hand through the mess of short hair that sat atop his head, the brown locks parting easily as he adjusted his position another time. His eyes, hazel in color, surveyed the area carefully before risking another glance at the watch on his wrist. Ashlee Graves had never been one for caution, but having a partner on any job in this line of business was inviting trouble. The mysterious employer had insisted that it was a two person job, and as such had hired another solo act to accompany him, despite his protests.

It was things like this, the sitting around and waiting for them to show up, that had turned him from working with others in the past. Trusting someone to come through for you when it truly mattered, to risk their neck on the chance they may end up in a cell with you when they could get away clean, it was too much to roll the dice on. Even as he breathed another annoyed sigh, the sound of quiet footsteps drew his gaze to the side of the hill that led down to the road.

A shadowy figure emerged only a few feet from him, clearly feminine even before she opened her mouth. "Sheesh kid, jumpy much?" The darkness concealed many of the features until the woman was sitting right next to him. With a small and angled jawline, she was pretty, if not the figure of beauty. Her hair was darker than his, pulled back into a tight ponytail, and her eyes were a striking green that seemed to glow in the low light afforded by the moon, only enhanced by the pale skin that surrounded them. "Got held up getting out of the city, some guy wanted to make sure a lady like myself wasn't going to be out on the streets long at this hour."

"Can't blame him, there's shady types about." With a begrudging nod, he forgave the tardiness of his partner, knowing enough about resentment to not enter a job with it. She sat back against the stone wall, watching the area the same way he had been earlier, on the lookout for anyone who might come stumbling by and see them. "Name's Ashlee Graves, you?"

Her eyes settled on him. "Graves, huh? I'm Alison.. Alison Terra." Leaning forward, she swung a backpack over on shoulder and opened it, pulling out a map, a flashlight, two radios, and a knife. The knife she slid into her boot before unfolding the map and laying it across her lap. Clicking on the flashlight, Ashlee could see that it was a copy of the floor plan for the manor they were currently outside of. "Alright, here's where I enter. I'm going to cut the security system completely off, which will buy us about five minutes until the guard on patrol will circle back around and notice that the system is down. You take a radio and tell me when he leaves his office to begin the rounds."

Grabbing one of the radios from the ground, Ashlee gave a nod to show he understood. "You already staked the place out for us, then? Makes sense."

"Yeah. Now you'll enter from the security office, and head down the hallway here until you reach the main level of the manor. You'll want to find the stairs down, across from where you enter from, and head down to the basement." Her finger slid over the paper to mark each point. "I enter from the window here, and take these stairs into the wine cellar, where I'll have to find the door that leads into the vault room, which is in the basement. We'll both have to open the doors to the room at the same time, because the vault room itself is on a separate system from the building security."

"And then we crack the safe, got it. Here's what we're looking for once we are in." He brought his own pack around, pulling out the picture he had been given. It featured man in a suit and bowler hat, an apple floating to obscure his face from the viewer. "It's called The Son of Man. We take it, wrap it, stick in my pack, and we're out before the cops are called."

"Whoa, we're sticking it in my pack. Think I'm going to trust you?" Her features took on a wary look as she shook her head, already stuffing the map and flashlight back into her pack and fitting it on her shoulders. "No offense, pretty boy, but I didn't ask to be paired with someone for this."

"You think I asked for this?" His voice rose for a moment before dropping to a growl, remembering where they were. "And I'm not trusting you with it, either. It goes in my pack, we deliver it to the drop point together, both of us get paid."

From the moment he suggested it, he could see that she was not going to agree, and that she knew that neither of them would submit to the other holding the painting. Instead of anger, her eyes lit up with a playfulness that unsettled him. "First to the finish, then?" Without another word, she jumped up and swung herself over the wall, sprinting off towards her side of the manor.

Quickly stashing the picture into his pack and clipping the radio to his belt, Ashlee followed her over and took off towards his side, grumbling about the fact this was turning out to exactly the reason he worked alone. The field was empty of anything but grass between him and the security office, and he slowed to a quiet walk as he neared the building. Pulling the radio up, he rotated the knob to turn it on, keeping the volume low as the static filled the air for a moment.

It didn't take long for the door to swing open, the guard stepping out with a groan. It was a much older man than him, more gray hair evident on his head than black, with a gut that told of how many drinks a night he downed. Smacking a flashlight against his open palm until it's beam cut through the darkness, the guard stepped out and heading in the opposite direction from where he was pressed up against the wall.

"Alison, he just left." Clipping the radio back on, Ashlee moved into the office. The displays which usually would have shown the manor and the grounds that surrounded it were black, the system having already been cut off at it's source by the other thief. The door leading into the main building was already ajar, and without any difficulty he was in, moving as quickly as he could without having his footfalls become slams against the stone floors.

The whole place was a graveyard as he moved through, the paintings lining the wall with the inscribed plaques of 'Lord Ravendale', or 'Duke Ravendale', titles that told him nothing of who the person had actually been. He reached the main hall in no time, stopping for a moment to glance around at what money bought in terms of living. It was grand, in an old way, the two staircases kept to the curved wall and led to an upper level, while a huge crystal chandelier hung above the ensemble.

Nodding in appreciation of the whole thing, Ashlee turned to run towards the opposite end of the house as he had entered in, coming to a stop as he spotted the stairs leading downward. They were nearly hidden on the side of the hall, cut into the wall about halfway down, and only identifiable in the dark by the absence of paintings of the Ravendale ancestry.

The basement was deep, and it felt like he was jogging down stairs for a long while before turning into the next room. He was in a hall, with a door to his right and one along the wall, down to his left. "Uh.. shit." Looking between the two with a frown set upon his lips, he chose the one on the left. It opened without resistance, and the hallway led to another door. Thinking back to the map that the woman had shown him, he remembered the layout enough to know that was the door to vault room.

"Alison, I'm at the door, you ready?" Speaking into the radio, he held the talk button for a moment before letting it go. He waited a few seconds against the static, no response coming as he pushed in the button again. "Where are you? I'm at the vault door." Again, nothing came from the device in his hand, leading him to groan and clip it back to his belt, beginning to move to the other door. Taking a single step through the portal to check the hallway, he saw that he was still alone.

"Someone tripped the alarm for the vault room!" The shout echoed down the stairs he came down, and the sound of heavy footsteps thundered from the floor above, heading in his direction. It didn't take him more than a second to decide on his course of action, turning to charge through the door into the vault room, glancing around. Alison was cracking the safe, the remote in her hand running through the code combinations as quickly as it could.

"Graves? I thought you would run." The other thief was looking at him, surprise etched into her features as the device in her hand chimed that it was successful. Just as he began to ask her what went wrong, one of the security guards came through the door that led to the wine cellar, gun in hand. Ashlee moved to take cover as the man opened fire at him. From behind the wooden column, he heard two more shots and a grunt, followed by a ripping noise.

Leaning out from behind the wood, he could see the blood pooling beneath the guard, who was laying face down near the safe, with Alison crawling back from the body, the knife in her hand wet with blood. Her jeans were stained a sanguine as well, just above the right knee, where she gripped her leg in pain. Moving to the safe first, Ashlee took the painting from it's resting place and slipped it into his pack. "Hey, you can't-!"

"We'll argue about it later, c'mon!" He took an arm and pulled her up to her feet, supporting her weight as he moved them out the door the guard had come through. Their pace was slow, but enough that they were well out of the vault room when they heard security enter it and find the body. Moving to the entrance Alison had used to get into the wine cellar, it became clear that the guards were surrounding them, and that they could not exit the same way.

Ashlee looked around, scanning the entirety of the room before settling on a window that was several feet above his highest jumping height. "There!" Leaning the thief he was carrying against a nearby wall, he took his pack and threw it through the glass, shattering it as the bag landed outside the manor. Turning, he cupped his hands and bent his knees, gesturing for Alison to come over. The look of confusion on her face made him want to laugh as the adrenaline messed with his perception. Instead, he kept his posture as she moved over, taking the foot of her good leg in his hands and boosting her up to the height of the window, where she crawled out.

He looked back around the cellar, trying to find another way out for himself, but finding nothing that would work as the sounds of the security were becoming louder. "Graves, give me your hand!" Looking back up, he saw Alison dangling through the frame with her hand stretched towards him, waiting for him to take it. With her help, he was able to reach the lip of the window and pull himself out, struggling past the shards of glass that bit into his hands and arms.

Both thieves took a moment to catch their breath, before Ashlee grabbed his pack and bent to take up his companion as well, both of them limping toward the stone wall where they had met. "Any idea on how we get out of here?" He looked to the other for an answer, and it came in the form of a hand pointing off towards the trees she had emerged from.

"My car, is through there." She gave a weak laugh as he began to move in that direction. "Any chance you know how to dig out a bullet?"

* * *

"Alison, wake up, we're at the drop point." Ashlee reached over and gently shook the woman's shoulder, causing her to stir before slowly opening her eyes and glancing around. After a moment of disorientation, she nodded at him and straightened in her seat. It had taken an hour or so to reach their destination, and she had been understandably tired, drifting off only a few minutes after he had dug the bullet out and wrapped the wound in a bandage.

Taking a moment to make sure she was okay, he finally leaned toward the back seat and took his pack from where it had been laying, bringing it back to the front. Looking at the bag, he tapped the frame of the painting through the fabric as they waited for their contact to show. "So.. 'Ashlee', can I ask about the name? Were your parents sadists or something?"

He chuckled at the thought, shaking his head as he looked out the window on his side. "No, no, good parents. Wanted a girl though, so they compromised when I popped out. How about your parents?" His eyes found the other thief's, whose grin remained as he posed his question.

"No idea, actually. Never knew them, and never really cared to look for them. Abandoned girl turns into a thief, who would've guessed it?" They both shared a laugh at that, with Ashlee returning to looking out over the area. "Speaking of that, how does a guy who apparently had good parents, and I'm guessing a pretty good childhood because of that, end up in this line of work?"

"It seemed like the right choice when they offered careers at school." Smirking as he glanced over at Alison, he shook his head as he caught sight of headlights rounding the corner on the other side of the warehouse they were parked by. "Well, there they are."

"Lets do this, then." They both opened their doors, stepping out into the cold night air. The other vehicle stopped a dozen or so feet away from them, it's silvery black color and spotless shine telling a tale of wealth for the man who owned it. The driver's door opened and man in a suit stepped out, taller than both of them, and clearly carrying a weapon under his jacket. He approached the rear door on his side, opening it for another man who stepped out.

Dressed in a suit that was somehow darker than the car he emerged from, the man stood only a few inches shorter than his driver. His hair was as black as the night that surrounded them, but the man was clearly a decade or two older than both of the thieves in front of him. Walking towards them through the muddy parking lot, he took a moment to look over them. "Ashlee Graves, Alison Terra. Two relatively new thieves that already have outstanding resumes behind them, working for me. Ah, it really is a dream come true."

Glancing over at the woman he had worked with, Ashlee caught her look as well, clearly thinking the same of the man's mental situation. "You seem to have us at a disadvantage, since you hired us through a third party." His eyes settled back on the businessman in front of them, keeping his tone neutral and even to not upset the man.

"Ah, of course, where are my manners? My name is Quinn Galeforth, and I've been looking for talent like you two for a long while now. But first, what went wrong with the job?" The man gestured towards Alison's injured leg, looking to either of them to answer his question.

Ashlee's eyes fell upon the other thief as well, unsure of what had go awry inside the manor, only that the alarm had been tripped. "We were trying to outmatch each other, to get to the painting first. And my recklessness got me into a position where I could either raise the alarm or get arrested on the spot.." Her hand rubbed near the wound on her leg as she spoke. "As for getting shot, a guard got into the room and began firing at my partner here, and he managed to get me before I put him down. Graves and I barely got out."

"Unfortunate, but still impressive." Galeforth's eyes settled on him as he pulled the painting from his pack and offered it to his employer, who took it from him carefully, tossing back the cloth that was wrapped over the artwork. "Ah, the Son of Man. Beautiful work..and I mean you two, not just the painting." Handing the painting off to his driver, he turned back to them and clapped his hands together excitedly. "Like I said, I've been looking for talent like you two for a long while. There's a private jet standing by at an airfield near here, just down the road a ways. If you want to enter a long term partnership, I can offer you protection from the law, and riches you will not find elsewhere. If not, then I will wire your payment for this job and we part ways here. Thank you both for your service."

Quinn turned away from them and strode back to his car, stepping into through the door held open by the same man who had taken the painting from him, leaving them sitting there against the hood of the car Alison had drove to the Ravendale manor. "Well, he's a strange one. You going to take him up on the offer?" Ashlee looked over at the other thief as he asked the question, expecting to hear another lecture on how she worked alone.

"I might be staying on if you do." The same playfulness that had unsettled him when they were at the start of the job was flashed in his direction again in the form of a grin as the other car pulled away from the lot.

Folding his arms, he gave a shrug as he mulled over what Galeforth had offered. "Why the sudden turn around?" It was hard to know if he was asking her, or himself, for considering it, especially given how the job had gone from bad to train wreck in a few seconds.

"You know what you're doing on a job, Graves. And you're loyal. You made sure I got out of there with the painting before you even gave a thought to getting out, and loyalty like that is hard thing to come by even out of our business." She chuckled, shaking her head like she still couldn't believe events had transpired the way they did. "I think it'll be nice to have someone watching my back."

Ashlee's thoughts were pulled to the hopeless feeling that had grown in his chest while he was looking for another escape from the wine cellar, only to be saved by Alison, who he had thought would be long gone at that time. "Hm, there are worse things than having someone looking out for you, I guess." Letting out a laugh as he turned to move to the door of their car, opening it and leaning on the frame. "To the airfield, then."


	2. Chapter 2 - The Sword of Joan

**Author's Note: I hope all seventeen readers(at the time of the posting, thanks guys!) are enjoying the read so far, and a personal thank you to An Amber Pen for giving the story a shot, seriously, you're awesome. I'm loving this character, and can only hope everyone reading can like the adventure up to this point. There is much more to come, and it will begin tying into the main story at.. well, some point. Anywho, read on! -Foxinstrazt**

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Chapter 2

**-The Sword of Joan-**

_**Lyon, France**_

_**May, 2006**_

Landing with his weight distributed evenly in order to make the least about of noise possible, Ashlee Graves had made it into the house, the seven foot fall from the window much easier than he had anticipated. Modest would the be the word furthest from the decorations or furniture that adorned the home, as the impressive salary of a state official was put towards 15th century artifacts and heirlooms that had been passed down in the wake of the Hundred Years' War. Shaking his head as he viewed the room he was in, he raised a hand to press the small mic in his ear. "Say, why I don't I just steal all this and fence it?"

A voice crackled over the radio, still annoyed at the route he had taken to get into the house once he had found that the two men dressed inconspicuously out by the canals were in fact guards, patrolling the backside of the house every twenty minutes like clockwork. "Because Quinn is paying us more than you'd ever make before they tossed your ass in jail. Now get moving, Graves."

"Yes ma'am." Alison had a point, anyone who tried to sell this many items so close to when they had stolen them would find themselves behind bars as fast as it took one fence to accept a bribe. Working for Quinn meant that the client wanted the item before they ever moved a muscle, assuring a deal and a payment. He made his way up the stairs just to the right of the window, stopping as he saw the camera in the corner ahead of him move along it's full sweep of the room. "You've got the feedback from the cams in a loop, yeah?"

"Of course I do, everything looks good from here." She was in an apartment across the canal from the mark's house, setup with the most moderate Galeforth's money could buy in surveillance equipment. They hadn't asked for much, and they hadn't gotten much. "Locks are still showing as engaged, alarms are still deactivated, but not tripped, and the two you think are guards are still sitting out back."

"Every twenty minutes, Ali, they moved every twenty minutes while you were setting up the equipment." Keeping his voice quiet as he stalked down a hallway, he paused to check both the ways he could go, running through the floor plan again in his head to correct for the new point of entry. "If I hadn't noticed that, we'd either be waiting for them to walk off or I'd already be hauled off in cuffs." The sigh that came through his radio made him grin, loving the fact that after two years he could still annoy his friend with the simplest things.

Stepping into the room that was his destination, he stopped and glanced around. "You have got to be shitting me. Ali, there are enough swords here that I'm sure I could find two that Galeforth will want next year." Hung along the walls were blades from every era, stretching back to the khopesh of Ancient Egypt, and on the wall opposite of where he had entered were more than a dozen swords with ornate cross guards. "Anything that can identify what I am looking for?"

"Uh.. give me a second.. It's engraved with French, a blessing of some sort: 'Bless this, the blade of the Arc.'" Sighing as he look over the swords, he scanned for any variances between them, finding nothing but a different type of jewel-encrusted hilt, each more flashy and unnecessary than the last.

Near the bottom of the entire ensemble was a rather plain looking broadsword with only a single sapphire lying in it's pommel. He bent to study the length of the weapon, finding the inscription near the base of the blade. "_Bénis cette, la lame de l'Arc, _that sounds about right." He wrapped his hands around the grip, pulling it away from the wall and testing it's weight carefully. Unlike the others along the wall that had lost their edge in the centuries since, this one seemed as pristine as the day it would have been made, still sharp as he grazed his thumb across the keen edge.

He was torn from his fascination with the object as Ali's voice came over the radio again. "Ashlee, get out of there! The silent alarm has been tripped, though it's coming from the other end of the house." Blinking away his distraction, he slid the sword into the bag he carried in with him, careful not to pierce the side of the container. In his ear, he could hear his friend cursing as she tried to find the source of the alarm, eventually devolving into frustrated noises as her search came up empty. "There's no one else in there with you, but you need to move quickly, the police are already on their way."

Running down the heavily carpeted hallway, he swung on the corner of the banister to launch himself down the stairs, jumping up onto the handrail at the end to give himself the height he needed. Ashlee jumped to the window he had entered from, his hands catching the edge of the frame with just enough grip to pull himself up and over, out onto the balcony. The guards he had identified near the canals ran by below him, causing him to wait a few seconds before swinging down to the ground below. "Ali, can you hear me? I'm heading for the dead drop."

"What? Ashlee, just get out of there!" Shaking his head, he ran to the edge of the canal, taking the bag holding the sword and laying it along the water, held to the canal wall by an old, rusted nail. "Just go, there's still a chance-"

"Ali, the cops are just around the block. Get the sword when you can, and tell Quinn to get me cleared. Graves out." Pulling the mic from his ear, he tossed it into the water and began walking along, trying to pull off as casual an appearance as he could. The sounds of the sirens coming from almost all directions stopped him in his tracks, revealing to him that there was no way he would be walking out of this one. Without stopping to truly consider his course of action, he turned and ran back toward the house.

By the time he reached the wall, he could hear the engines of the patrol cars coming across the canal's bridge or around the street corner. Jumping to the small ledge afforded by a low window, he turned and jumped to the balcony he had originally used to enter the house. Scrambling up to the frame that was still open, he threw his weight inside the house. Landing with a huff, he dusted himself off, barely having enough time to turn and make it look like he was escaping when the guards burst in through the door, yelling in French as he held up his hands.

* * *

"Parlez-vous Français?" Ashlee looked up into the face of the man who had entered the interrogation room, raising an eyebrow and shaking his head, bringing a chuckle from the officer. Shuffling in his cuffs, he shrugged and looked away, wishing that they had put a clock in the room at some point. "English, then." The man spoke with an accent indicating they shared the same home country.

"Oh good, we speak the same language. Now we can get somewhere with this whole friendship thing." He grinned at the other man, who sat down and laid a file folder on the table, the whole thing looking pathetically empty. Leaning forward with a feigned interest, he flipped open the folder, revealing a profile page that lacked everything but a name, his name.

"The police ran your prints, and came up with nothing. So I sent them to back to Langley, and we came up with a match on school records from fifteen years ago, and that gave us a name. So I decided to make an inquiry to Interpol, and got this." Closing the folder with a hand, the man shook his head. "Now the CIA and Interpol together have two different names on an American man caught thieving from a French diplomat, when the alarm was tripped by an electronic intrusion we tracked to MSS. What am I supposed to make of that, Mr. Raines?"

Ashlee tilted his head, realizing that the quick response time on the house he had been in had nothing to do with the fact he had been there stealing a sword. "You know my name, how about you tell me yours?" The officer using the last name sounded strange, as it was something he hadn't heard directed his way in a long while, the new identity he assumed had slowly replaced it in his mind and mannerisms.

"I am Agent MacIntyre, I'm with the CIA. And you didn't answer my question." The gravity of the situation caused him to study the minute details of the man in front of him. From the black, unkempt hair to the shirt that was unbuttoned until three buttons down, it was clear that he had been working on something connected to this for days, at the very least. He had a narrow nose and a long face, and eyes that lacked a sense of warmth, their cold irises the color of the sky.

"Well, Mac, that's because I'm not sure where to start." Grinning like a fool as he shook his head, Ashlee did his best to gather the charade of a carefree attitude as his mind raced for a solution to the mess he had landed in. "Actually, no, I can start with that you got the wrong guy here. I'm just a common thief."

"You're a common thief, Mr. Raines? That's your defense?" MacIntyre sighed and leaned back in the chair, observing him with an expression that bordered between skepticism and a practiced calm, but the anger that was beginning to fester as his questions were answered with humor showed through. "A common thief that managed to get his identity wiped from multiple databases? I think not. You are a thief, but you are also in the service of the MSS, and I want to know where I can find Fang."

"Fang?" The question slipped out before he could control himself, the prospect of being held by the CIA on the suspicion of espionage making him feel like he was being backed into a corner, throwing his focus. Recovered in an split-second, he held up his hands and shook his head, still holding the smile and hoping that it was covering the fear churning up behind it. "Now Mac, you are throwing names I me I don't even understand. Fang? Never heard of him. And MSS? I don't even know what that is."

This time, the agent opposite him spoke through gritted teeth, not the best sign for his well-being in the short term, but enough that he could strain to see hope on the horizon. "The Ministry of State Security, it is the intelligence agency for the Chinese government."

Raising a genuine eyebrow on why a Chinese intelligence agent had tripped the alarm at the house he had been stealing from, Ashlee leaned back, his grin finally slipping away into something more akin to shock. "Huh." In an instant, he resumed his cheerful expression, shaking his head in the most condescending way he could. "Yeah, haven't ever heard of it before now."

MacIntyre rose quickly, each fist clenched as he did, but Ashlee held his ground and his attitude, not afraid of being smacked around if it meant getting out of this room and to a place where Quinn would actually stand a chance of getting him out. The agent took a long, deep breath to steady himself before speaking again. "Alright, Mr. Raines. You can rot in a cell until I get agency approval to transport you back to the States. We'll see what the folks at Gitmo can dig up." It was the other man's turn to smile now, as he made his way out of the room, leaving Ashlee cuffed, and starting to feel the hopelessness sink in again.

* * *

"Well buddy, today has not been my day, I can tell you that much." With his arms through the gaps of the bars, Ashlee was leaning on his cell door heavily, his eyes watching the guards that moved past with a gnawing boredom. "I mean, the plan to trick the cops into thinking I had been discovered and tried to escape? Flawless. Ali would've got me out of police custody, we had the sword, it was golden! Well..risky, but not 'Hey, now I'm suspected of spying on the country I was born in.' risky, do you know what I'm getting at here?"

He leaned back to look at his neighbor, a large man with the tanned skin of an islander. Since the hour or so that he had been placed in his cage, his attempts to converse with the other man had met a roadblock, and not because of any barrier of language. "Enough about me though, let's talk about a man like you being in a prison in the middle of France." The stoic silence of the man only served to irritate him further when he saw the tattoo that covered the other's arm, looking tribal and meaningful in a way that piqued his curiosity to a dangerous level. "Alright then, continue not speaking, it isn't unsettling at all."

Minutes passed as he went back to watching the men who patrolled the corridor, but after a long time of the only sounds being footsteps, his neighbor's voice finally sounded out amongst the rooms. "I killed two men."

The reversal of what had been unsettling upon hearing the words so calmly spoken by the other man caused Ashlee to take a step away from the neighboring cell. "You know, I almost preferred the silence." Curiosity overrode caution, as it normally did for him, and he found himself sitting down on the cot near the edge of his cage. "So, why'd you do it? You seem pretty zen for a guy who just killed a couple people."

Opening his eyes for the first time within the hour, the man met his gaze with strange blue-green eyes that matched his equally mysterious personality. "You know how a man should act after he kills, then?" Again, the other spoke with an even calmness about him, as if nothing could shatter the peaceful existence he had obtained after murdering two men.

The question took his mind back to the people he had seen killed, effectively silencing him for a long moment. "..No, no I don't. But I know that you aren't screaming about the voices in your head, so you must have had a reason." It took difficulty to meet the hard stare coming from the other, even separated as they were, as the minutes seemed to drag on.

Finally, the man looked away, closing his eyes once again. "Vengeance was the reason. They were criminals who killed my sister, so I hunted them and killed them, like the animals they were."

"And you were caught?"

"No, I was found at the scene. Here, or on the run, I will be found by the men who owned the two I killed."

Whistling at the problems that made his seem insignificant, he shook his head. "Damn, I'd help you if I could, friend." Laughing in spite of himself, Ashlee was about to lay back in his cot when a man in a guard uniform tapped on his door, holding a radio through the bars with one hand.

"Vous! Prenez cette." The man's voice was quiet, a harsh whisper of the language he barely understood, but it brought him to his feet and compelled him forward, taking the radio with an eyebrow raised.

He clicked the button, the static cutting off before he spoke into it. "..Hello?"

"This is the man who was in the house, shì ma?" The voice that came through was distinctly female, the accent placing her as an East Asian, and it wasn't a huge leap to assume she was Chinese, based on what the CIA agent out for his blood had said.

"You!" Gripping the radio hard enough that his knuckles turned white, Ashlee threw a punch into the air in anger, fury building in the tension between his muscles. "You're the one who tripped the alarm, Fang!"

"I am sorry about that, but I can offer you something more than an apology." Static returned as her voice faded, prompting him to reply with two words, each spoken like a growl.

"I'm listening."

Silence came for a few moments, and for a second he feared that his attitude had destroyed any chance of a deal. "I need the blueprints of the building you were in, and the code to get through the security firewall. Get them to me, and you walk free."

Ashlee began to pace in his cell, the worried glances down the corridor from the guard not helping him decide any quicker. He ended his movement facing the man who had been his neighbor for the past few hours, the giant islander watching him with genuine interest, breaking the serene expression he usually wore. "Fang, your plan to get me out, can it accommodate two people?"

The other man's eyes grew wider, and his features turned to disbelief as he processed what had been said. "If it has to." She was not pleased with his request, but her agreement brought the first real grin to his face since he had heard the sirens encroaching upon him.

"Then we have a deal. I'll give you the number to call my associate."

* * *

Two days had passed since Ashlee had handed back the radio, two days and only silence had met his constant internal questioning on where the deal had landed him on the game board. Stuck in a prison cell while wondering if he had become a pawn to be sacrificed or a king to be saved, he found the time dragged on when his only source of conversation was a man who was in no mood to converse, and shared no thoughts on his hopes for their daring escape.

The second day, Agent MacIntyre had shown up, looking more than pleased with himself when he announced that the transfer was going through, and that transport would be there by the next morning to carry him back to the States and face the charges against him. MacIntyre took a great deal of pleasure in insinuating how a fair trial would not be afforded to him, since he technically did not exist in the system. The walls closed in around Ashlee with every passing minute, and he soon found himself laying on the cot within his cage, preparing for the worst to happen.

It was around midnight that keys unlocking the cell door brought his attention away from the ceiling and to the door, where two guards opened the cells containing both men, beckoning and whispering away in French for them to follow. The way through the prison was straightforward enough, moving past several checkpoints, the empty offices displaying surveillance screens that were completely blacked out, concealing their passage. They were led out a service entrance, the door held open by one of the guards while the other handed Ashlee a radio.

"Thank you for your service, Mr. Graves, your associate handled everything. She is waiting for you just outside." The woman's voice came through again, and she was sounding as if a load had been lifted from her shoulders.

"And thank you, Fang. I appreciate the help."

"Our debt is settled." With that, he handed the device back to the guard, who gave him the marked evidence bags that held everything he had been carrying when he had broken into the house, a simple wallet and a set of lock picks. Nodding his thanks to the two gentlemen, he followed the large islander out through the door and jogged to the car that was idling in the street waiting for them.

Opening the door to the passenger seat, he flashed a grin at Alison before climbing in. "Did you get the sword?" The vehicle seemed to rock with the movement of the larger man settling in the back seat, and the sound of a door closing accompanied the end of the swaying.

"Got it, and it's on it's way back to Galeforth, who's your friend?" The woman looked in the rear view mirror, narrowing her eyes slightly as she studied the prisoner with a careful gaze before returning her view to the road and bringing the car into gear.

"I am Tiane, and I owe you both a debt of gratitude." Before Ashlee could respond, he continued. "The men I killed were Russian Mob. My sister had owed them money, and they would surely have killed me if I had stayed in my cell. I fear you must drop me off as soon as we are out of the city, for your own safety."

Catching the glance from his partner-in-crime, Ashlee dismissed her concerns quickly, looking back to address Tiane face to face. "I'm Ashlee Graves, this is Alison Terra. You got a plan aside from running?"

"No."

The blunt answer revealed that the man knew exactly where his chosen course would end, a plot of land six feet under. "Come with us." The sea-colored eyes met his, wide with shock, just as they had been back in the cell when he had asked Fang to get them both out. "Our employer can shield you from any efforts to find you, and I could use the muscle on my team. I can't guarantee much except that you won't be found, and you'll be paid a fair share of every job we do."

Tiane spent a long moment deciding, looking down at his hands as he ran them over one another. "It seems I have no choice. Thank you."

Chuckling as he turned back to face the front, he watched the fading lights of the city flash by as they accelerated down the road. "We're glad to have you aboard, Tiane."

* * *

"Tiane is a bit strange, don't you think, Graves?" Quinn's gaze upon him didn't cause the flinch it might have just two years ago. The man's hair was as black as a raven's feather, but some patches were beginning to lighten. They were hardly noticeable unless Ashlee focused on finding them, but every other feature was as hard and businesslike as it had been when they first met.

"He will be a great asset to the team, I think. He's odd, but he has a disregard for laws and the muscle I think we'll find useful. I can teach him everything else he needs to know about thieving. ..He's a good man, beneath everything else." He leaned back in the chair he was lounging in, reaching his arms up to stretch above his head.

"Alright, I'll make the call, he'll be safe under my protection. Same as you and Terra." The older man took a long draw of a cigar he was holding between two fingers, savoring it before blowing out smoke. "So, in the process of escaping CIA custody for being suspected of aiding a foreign agency, you aided that foreign agency? I knew you had balls, but this is a whole new level, I'd even say I'm proud of you."

"Speaking of, I need you to make sure that link they found to me is wiped away, everything about the records gone." Ashlee stood, enjoying the compliment the man had given him, but not acknowledging it on the thought of his past being dredged up by any random CIA field agent.

"Are you sure, Graves? It's the only thing left of who you were." The concern in a matter that would clearly benefit Galeforth brought a raised eyebrow, and a questioning look. "Once this is gone, there will be nothing to pull up the rest of that identity. It's why it was left in the first place."

He turned to walk towards the wide double doors of the office, laying a hand on the polished heavy oak before answering, only turning his head a slight amount to catch his employer out of the corner of his eye. "I'm sure, Lesley Raines is dead."


	3. Chapter 3 - The Thieves of Endurance

**Author's Note: Shorter than I had expected it to be, but that's also because I split this chapter into two parts. I love that I've got at least one person looking forward to the continuation of this story, because it is just becoming more and more fun to write. Keep in mind that the Ashlee in the main story, and the one in these parts of his life are all very different, shaped by the events that follow, obviously. Enjoy the read guys! -Foxinstrazt**

* * *

Chapter 3

**-The Thieves of Endurance-**

_**Amazon Rainforest, Brazil**_

_**June, 2008**_

Wood bit at his skin as he planted a foot in the middle of two trees, scrambling up the trunk of one until he reached a height where he could jump to a low hanging branch and swing himself into the side of the hill. Digging in a handhold, bullets began burying themselves in the soft mud next to Ashlee Graves, fired from a range that didn't dare to hope for accuracy. Pushing upwards with his feet, he managed to jump to the very edge of the cliff, gaining a precarious hold that began to deteriorate with the added weight from the moment he grabbed on.

Looking up in search of another handhold to pull himself over, he found the surrounding area lacking of one, his vision instead filled with a beast of a man, who was aiming a rifle straight towards him and sporting an ugly sneer across his face. The shock didn't get a chance to register as the man flew over him, tumbling down to the ground below, the landing accompanied by a sound of snapping bones and screams of pain. In place of his would be executioner stood his smaller and much more attractive friend, Alison, with the fire in her bright green eyes that always took hold in a fight.

Her hand caught his as his hold faltered, and she managed to pull him up over the edge as a new rain of bullets shattered where he had been hanging. Out of breath, and shouting over the sounds of gunfire, the woman hauled him to his feet. "You really are a lucky bastard, you know that?"

His grateful smile was answer enough as they both took off down the path that led into the forest below, a small enough shortcut that would buy them the time they needed. Skidding down a steep incline, Ashlee broke into a run at the end of it, the sounds of gunfire growing louder by the second as he realized he was heading towards yet another firefight. Unlike the one sided ambush he had been on the receiving end of, this fight looked to be faring better for the crew he had come to this country with.

Ducked behind a defensible position that involved a fallen tree, Tiane was waving them over frantically as splinters were blasted from the bark of his cover. Sliding onto the ground near him to avoid getting hit by the rounds that were now shearing the air he had occupied a few seconds ago, Ashlee greeted his friend with a pat before moving to the other two. "Roth! Glad to see you made it out of there."

Conrad Roth turned to face him, his voice filled with more relief upon seeing them then Ashlee had expected. "Graves, Terra. Was Richard with you?"

Glancing around, Ashlee shook his head, seeing that the old archeologist was nowhere to be found. Alison spoke up, confirming what everyone was starting to fear. "Last I saw he was in the middle of the dig site." Pulling the magazine from her pistol, she checked it before sliding it back in with more effort than was needed. "Any idea who these assholes are?"

"Killing them solves the problem of identifying them." It was Tiane who spoke, having finished reloading the rifle he was holding in his hands. In the tone he had said it in, Ashlee could have just as easily heard the large man commenting on the weather or what they should have for breakfast tomorrow.

"Whoa, I'm all for not getting shot, but do we really have to kill them?" Even as he voiced his opinion on the matter, a dark skinned woman joined them, running up from the forest behind them.

Reyes was out of breath, and sporting a number of scratches consistent with the branches that had cut into everyone's arms on the mad dash through the trees. "Roth, they haven't found the jeep yet, but it won't be long." Ashlee's gaze was drawn away from them when Alison offered a pistol that was nearly identical to her's to him grip first, letting him take it with that same smile that was equally playful and dangerous, a sure sign that killing was the destination they had all arrived at in their minds.

"The life we lead, Graves, you shouldn't be surprised that it came to this on at least one of our jobs." His friend laughed at the look on his face as he took the gun from her, the weight familiar, even years displaced from the lessons he had been given on handling the weapon.

"I just didn't-"

"Enough!" Roth caught his attention, the older man leaning over with a hard look in his eyes, before he started to scan the group. "Here is where we are at, whether we like it or not. We fight or we die." Locking his gaze upon Ashlee, the man's next words hit home hard enough that all thoughts of naivety were brushed away. "The choice is simple."

Silence followed, and Roth took it as a sign to continue. "Now, Reyes, Grim, Tiane and I will hold their attention here. Terra, you take Graves and go wide around them, back to the dig site. We need to find Richard."

"Aye, we cannae leave withou' Dicky." Grim's response was the only audible agreement they needed, with Alison grabbing Ashlee by his shirt to pull him up and out from behind the fallen tree, letting go as she ran for the foliage on the other side of the clearing. The sounds of gunfire returned as he followed her back into the trees, holding the pistol he had been given in a tight grip.

* * *

The dig site that their expedition had set up had been bustling with workers just an hour previous to when Ashlee and his friend saw it again. Bodies were littered around the earth, left where they fell when they were gunned down, lending a macabre appearance to what had been an archeological dig. From the treeline, they scanned the ground, looking for the man who had led them on this expedition, who had hired their services from Galeforth a couple months ago.

Alison made a noise of annoyance, causing him to look over. "I don't see him from here, and we don't have the time to comb the forest for him if he got out." Just as she finished, voices emanated from the opening into the ruins that had been dug up, and three men clad in the same uniforms as those who had been shooting at them dragged another man between them, pushing him to his knees despite his struggles. The third, who was not holding onto him, aimed a pistol at the man's head.

"Graves, go down through there, try to get to them. I'm going to work my way around, but you have to fire if I don't have enough time." His nod wasn't enough to satisfy her, taking an elbow to the ribs to bring his gaze to her. "Don't hesitate to pull the trigger, got it?"

"Go, Ali, I've got this." His friend waited another moment before nodding and stalking off through the trees to flank the men who had Richard Croft captive. Dropping to a crouch, Ashlee made his way forward, keeping his footsteps as quiet as possible as he reached the first of the tents that had made up their camp around the dig. Using them to skirt around the vision of the two that held the older man, he finally held a position close enough that he could overhear what was being said.

"Where's the journal, old man?" Richard didn't answer, remaining defiant, despite looking down the barrel of a gun. Seconds passed too quickly, as Ashlee was left silently hoping that Alison was close to being in position.

Fate had other plans, it seemed, as one of the men holding the archeologist clearly lacked the patience that he had hoped for. "He doesn't know, just shoot him."

Ashlee caught a glimpse of Alison behind them, but she was too far to get a shot on the man who was about to execute Richard. Cursing under his breath, he stepped out from behind the tent, moving forward to a wooden crate that still hid him from the vision of the captors. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he recalled all he could of the lessons he had received as a teenager years ago. He rose and took aim, centering the man's chest in his sights, and watching the grin start to dissipate from his enemy's face as he was noticed.

Before the man could alert his friends, Ashlee squeezed off three quick shots, creating an eruption of blood from the area that was previously occupied by the man's heart. Without stopping to consider what he had done, he pushed all thinking aside and fell into instinct, sliding the weapon's barrel along to the next of the attackers, gripping the metal trigger again and again as the next man fell.

The third assailant was quicker, pulling his rifle up from where it hung across his chest, already raising his barrel by the time the second was down. Before any shots could come his way, the last of the men was put down from two quick shots as Alison joined the fray, both of them slamming into the shoulders from behind and pitching the man forward, where she finished him off by burying her knife into his back.

Ashlee felt his stomach heave as what he had done set in, his conscious mind returning unbidden and throwing aside the instinct he had embraced just moments before. It brought him to a doubled over position, coughing as bile threatened to rise in his throat. It took a few moments before the feeling subsided, letting him suck in a breath and straighten out, trying to ignore the teasing expression on Alison's face. "You gonna be alright, Graves?"

"I'm fine!" Steadying himself, he glared at his friend before looking at the man they had saved. "Richard, you okay?"

Rising to his feet, the older man dusted off his pants like he hadn't just been held hostage. "Yes I am, thanks in no small part to your exceptional timing."

"It was nothing, just gotta get you home to that daughter of yours, Croft." Alison sauntered over to Ashlee, patting his shoulder in a congratulatory way.

Richard retrieved the pistol that had been aimed his way, checking the chamber before nodding, finding the weapon satisfactory. "I'm sure a lady as lovely as you has a reason to get home as well, no?"

"Not likely. All I've got is Ashlee here, even if he is a little soft."

"Ha! You're hilarious. Now, let's get going before someone shows up, we've still got to get out of this damn jungle." Ashlee drew back the slide of his weapon, before letting it slam back into place.

"One moment." Moving between the bodies, Richard Croft made it to a stone slab that was slightly elevated from others in the ruins floor, lifting it up and out of the niche it was in, before pulling a small journal from the hole. Holding it up to them, the older man grinned like a child who had just gotten his way. "Now, we may leave."

* * *

The night following their ambush, the Endurance was back out at sea, all living members accounted for. The toll had been high on the crew, and Ashlee had found himself unwilling chased by the look on the faces of the men he had killed, an expression halfway through surprise and rage, followed by shock as they were pierced by his bullets. The memories played again and again as he walked the ship, finally turning into the galley to dish himself up some of the stew that had been made.

He detoured from the same dinner ritual he had adopted since coming aboard the expedition, taking a bowl and filling it, but heading for the table furthest from any others in the room. "Hey, Graves, come join us." It was Joslin Reyes' voice he heard, turning to see the rest of the crew that had escaped the forest with him, all of them watching him. Nodding, he adjusted his path and made his way to the empty space on the long table, settling down next to Alison.

Conversation resumed as if it had never been interrupted, with Tiane and Grim sharing tales of the various bar fights they had been a part of, while Roth was holding a picture that Richard had handed to him, displaying a pretty girl with a brown ponytail, dressed in an archery outfit and holding a high end bow in on hand. His observation of the photo was broken by another elbow into his ribcage, a feeling that was becoming too familiar for his tastes. "She's a fox, yeah?"

Looking over, Ashlee felt his eyes widen. "What?"

"Croft's daughter." Alison's voice was low, especially against the laughs that erupted across the table from them, but her devilish grin would've betrayed what she was thinking to anyone who saw it.

"Sure, Ali." Shaking his head, he chuckled at his friend's antics. "We really need to find you a girl next time we've got a few days off."


	4. Chapter 4 - The Temple of Inti

**Author's Note: Sorry for the gap between the last update and now, as I said in Ashes of Time, I was finishing up the story I had started months ago for The Last of Us. It is now complete and I will begin updating both this and the main story again. Hope you guys enjoy where this is going, and thanks for reading! -Foxinstrazt**

* * *

Chapter 4

**-The Temple of Inti-**

_**Isla Angamos, Chile**_

_**July, 2008**_

Ashlee leaned his elbows upon the rail to watch the wake of the Endurance roll by, running his hand over the smooth metal of the pistol Ali had given him a week and a half ago. He turned it over a couple times before sighing and sliding it into the holster that was now strapped to his thigh, just another indicator to things that had changed since he pulled that trigger. The sound of footsteps behind him announced that he was no longer alone, as Roth moved up and stood next to him.

The older man took a long draw from the cigarette he was holding, watching the waves with a content smile. "We'll be back on land in a few hours."

"Richard finished the translation, then?" The journal the old man had almost died for back in Brazil, written by a Spanish conquistador in the Sixteenth century. It was the whole reason for this expedition, the reason Ashlee had been hired to accompany them. "We got an idea who it was that attacked us?"

"They were professionals. Probably a private military for one of Galeforth's competitors."

"Any chance they followed us?"

Roth leaned back to look him over, an eyebrow raised. "Want to tell me what's on your mind, Graves?"

He sighed, turning to the face the other man as he tapped his fingers against the grip of the pistol. "How do you deal with killing someone? You're ex-military, right? Figured you would know."

"Some people just don't have a problem with it, like Alison. Others do, it's something you deal with, and each person has to find their own way. All I can offer is this: Don't let that voice in your head take hold. Focus on the objective, and deal with the guilt later." Flicking his smoke to the waters, Roth took a moment of watching the sea before continuing. "Now, Croft's gonna brief us on the details of the journal, and we need you at your best. Pull yourself together, Graves." The man clapped a hand on his shoulder as he walked past, and Ashlee nodded a few times, turning to follow him.

* * *

"Ah, you found Ashlee, good." Richard Croft's words drew the gaze of the entire room as they entered, from the stoic permanent glare on Reyes' face, to the sly smile present on Ali's, Ashlee scanned them all before affixing his eyes to the map of the group of islands they had sailed to. "Now, as I was saying, the journal mentions that they took a ship to the island named Isla Angamos. They were in pursuit of.. this." The man laid the small leather journal on the table in front of them, revealing a detailed drawing of a disc.

The face of it was a stylized sun, with words written in the natives language around the outside of it. Taking his place next to Ali, he narrowed his eyes as the old archaeologist continued. "They found a temple to Inti, the Incan sun god, on this island. But all references to the disc disappear from the journal after that. The writer goes back to describing the progress of the civil war on the mainland."

"We're sure the disc is still there? It could be the Spanish took it." Ashlee looked around the table.

"It could be gone, yes, but we won't know for sure until we get there."

The woman next to him spoke up next, raising her hand. "So this tribute to the god is solid gold, right? How big are we talking?"

Richard laughed at her question, shaking his head. "It's big enough to be held in the palm of your hand, dear, and as such, there are much more profitable ventures if money is your goal. However, the historical value of finding this is immeasurable. I think it could be the origin to the myth of the city of gold."

Ali shrugged, looking a bit disappointed. "So much for an early retirement, then."

The group chuckled at her attitude before returning their attention to the map as their leader continued. "Now, we'll take one of the smaller boats to the island, follow this inlet, and arrive here." The man tapped one finger on the map, showing a cove tucked between two of the island's mountains. "From here, there should be several trails that lead to the temple entrance. Everyone clear?"

Roth waited until everyone gave a nod before he spoke up. "Get your gear and meet up on the deck, we're heading out soon."

* * *

Ducking behind a nearby tree, the bark was shattered by a hail of bullets. The moment it let up, Ashlee leaned out and shouted down the trail to the unseen assailants. "Hey, fuck you too!" Pushing off of his cover, he sprinted to catch up with the rest of the group. He had been separated from them fairly early, only having a handful of minutes on the island before the other boat had landed, offloading the same mercenaries that had attacked them in Brazil. But he was on one of the paths that to the temple, and it stood to reason that his friends were as well.

Coming around the corner, he saw the ancient stonework set into the mountainside, as well as the two armed men looking into it's open maw. "You think they went in?"

"Corin doesn't pay me enough to go after them, if they did. Place smells like rot." Drawing his pistol, he moved up behind them, taking each step carefully as he aimed for the one closest to him. Pulling the trigger, his shot was true as the round traveled into the back of the man's head. The other turned and raised his rifle, only to receive two shots in the chest and stumble back into the entrance of the temple. Ashlee could hear the men that had pursued him up the trail from the inlet, so he ran in the only direction he saw was left, straight into the temple. The ground dropped suddenly, the incline slick enough that he slid down, landing atop the man he had shot.

Rising quickly and preparing for a fight, he saw that the mercenary was dead, his lifeless eyes watching the ceiling. Grabbing the rifle strapped to the man's chest, he pulled it off of the body and threw the strap over one shoulder, removing a grenades from the vest as well. Voices started traveling through the opening of the temple, spurring him on further down the hallway, reaching the nearby corner and putting his back to it, listening for the sounds of pursuit. "Ah, Conrad."

The voice sounded distinctly English, and Ashlee chanced a quick look around the corner, the angle of the incline giving him no idea of what was happening outside. "Jacob. Should have known it would be you."

"Tit for tat, old friend. Now, you, pretty little thing. Where's your friend, the man who escaped my forces on the beach?" No answer came from whoever the man was talking to, but the distinct click of a pistol being cocked echoed down the passage. "I have no qualms killing the old bastard, girl. He's put me through quite a bit of trouble the last few years. Making my clients very unimpressed, as it were. But I mean no lasting harm to you or your friend, I'll even let Roth live once I have that disc."

It was a few seconds before Ali's voice reached him, different from the confident thief it usually belonged to. "Please, no! He ran into the temple when he saw the rest of us were captured." He let out a slow breath, listening intently as she continued. "There's like thirty of you guys, can you blame him? We're just archaeologists, please.. we aren't soldiers." His lips slowly rose into a grin as he realized the genius behind his friend's act, and her faint hope that he was close enough to hear her.

"As if that weren't painfully obvious. Get them up, we'll take them along until we find him." Ashlee moved back from the corner, heading down the dark passage ahead of him without making a sound. Pulling the flashlight from his belt, he clicked it and continued on, having walked only a few minutes before he came across the remains of one of the Spaniards who had come here first. The armor, signaling him as a conquistador, was punctured in a dozen different places, the pressure plate beneath the bones already triggered.

Stepping past it, he moved down another long hallway that turned and opened into a wide cavern. Just past the door lay another of the men who had reached this ancient place before him, this one killed from behind, the sword still held firmly in it's place. "No honor among thieves, apparently. Sorry bud." Chuckling at his own humor, he continued into the large hall. The only way across to the other side that he could see was a narrow bridge that looked like a natural formation, and the darkness below seemed to stretch on forever. "Well, shit."

Balancing himself as he began to cross the bridge, Ashlee looked up, seeing a small balcony cut into the stone above the entrance to the next room. He ran the last few steps off of the bridge, narrowing his eyes as he shined the flashlight through, stepping into a huge amphitheater. Rows and rows of seats were cut into the rock, all facing the middle of the ensemble. An altar stood at the center, and at it's base, a third Spaniard. As he neared, he could see the sword clutched in the bony fingers, and the tear through the breast of the old armor. In the other hand, laid upon the floor, glinted the golden disc that Richard had hired him to find. Pulling it from the grasp of the dead man, he slid it into his pocket, taking a breath as he looked around the room. Clicking the flashlight off, he could see that enough natural light was coming into the chamber from the exit on the far side of where he had entered.

It was dark, but not so much that it impaired his vision as he ran up the steps near where he had entered. Turning the corner, he found himself on the balcony overlooking the bridge, and the beams of light that were slowly growing closer down the hallway on the opposite end of the cavern. Settling down onto one knee, he lifted the rifle up, checking the safety before aiming down the sights. Alison was the first he saw, pushed along by the man behind her. With hair was streaked with gray, the older man carried a cruel look about him. The gun he forced into the woman's back compelled her forward, stepping onto the old pathway to cross the room.

Ashlee ducked as the beam of a flashlight passed by his hiding spot, holding his breath as he heard more people enter the room. Stealing a glance over his cover, he saw Roth and Reyes led through, just behind Tiane and Richard. Ali's words had been correct, the number of enemies was just shy of thirty. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and flicked the safety on the assault rifle in his hands. _You know what you have to do, now do it. Deal with the guilt later._

Moving up, he aimed over at the last ten or so mercenaries that had followed the first party into the room. His finger danced on the trigger for a split second, indecision giving way to resolve as he settled on the man in front. The kick was less than he had anticipated as the weapon began spitting out rounds at a high velocity. The first five men were dead before they had any idea of what was happening, falling to the depths below as their weight was thrown by the impacts of the bullets. Those that remained looked up, only to fall back a moment later as he directed the fire towards them. He managed to fell another seven before the rifle began clicking, signaling it's emptied state.

Tossing it aside, he ran for the archway that led back to the amphitheater. The sound of gunshots filled the air as the enemy unloaded into where he had been taking cover a moment before, silencing almost immediately. His pistol slid out of his holster easier than any time he had practiced drawing the weapon in the last week, trained on the doorway as Ali was dragged through by her arm. "Give it up, boy." The man holding her spoke to him, a sidearm pressed to his friend's head, not sounding more than mildly annoyed that he had just killed a good number of his men. "She doesn't have to die for you."

Meeting the woman's green eyes, he saw the subtle shake of her head as he mulled it over. Ashlee dropped his gun to the ground, raising his hands with a sigh. "No one else needs to die, Corin." It hadn't been hard to place the name to the man, having heard the men he killed at the entrance to temple.

"I'm afraid you are wrong." The weapon in the older man's hand turned his way as the rest of his group was pulled in by the remaining mercenaries, numbering eight in total, with a half dozen still crossing the bridge. "Someone does have to die for what I've been put through, chasing down you bloody thieves on board that wreck Conrad calls a ship.

"You first, then." Ashlee's words were met with a raised eyebrow as the man began to laugh. Flicking his eyes to Alison's, his fellow thief grinned and threw her head backwards, connecting into her captor's nose to free herself. A knife seemed appear in her hand, drawn from one of her many hidden places, sailing through the air in one smooth motion to bury itself into the chest of the man holding Roth. The old captain wasted no time tearing the weapon from the mercenary's hands, firing into the other men that were too surprised to counter quickly enough.

He reached into his pocket, pulling the pin on the grenade within before throwing it through the doorway that led out into the cavern with the bridge. The cries of the men outside the portal rose up as the explosion shook the entire structure, adding to the chaos as his friends began to fight their way free. Gunfire came in sporadic bursts as the close quarters risked friendly fire, and Corin raised the pistol his way again.

Ashlee didn't give the man enough time to fire, rushing forward to grab the hand holding the firearm and twisting, ripping the gun away from the fingers before breaking the wrist. The cry of pain quickly turned into a grunt as he pulled his combatant forward and brought his knee up into the man's stomach, letting go of the arm and smashing his fist into the back of the man's head. Looking up, he saw that the rest of the mercenaries were dead, with his group all on their feet, weapons at the ready. Ali looked like she had cut someone's throat in close proximity, with blood sprayed across one cheek and her shoulder, while Tiane was holding a wound left from a bullet grazing his shoulder.

Richard and Roth were unharmed, both panting from their own struggles, while Reyes was checking the magazine in the weapon she had taken from their former captors. Pointing toward the door on the far side of the room, Ashlee shouted over the rumbling of the structure that was beginning to shake with a growing ferocity, the balance that had held the place together for centuries upset by the grenade he had tossed. "The way out is over there!"

The group wasted no time in running as he collected the pistol he had dropped before turning back to the man he had beaten down. Jacob Corin was crawling forward, reaching out for the weapon he had lost. Setting his boot down on the gun, Ashlee crouched, meeting the gaze of the older man. "You going to kill me, boy?" The tone was so mocking as he considered taking that course, eventually grinning as he made up his mind.

"No." The brown eyes widened as he looked down, thumbing the hammer of his pistol. "I'm not a good man. Because a good man would put a bullet in your head and that would be the end of it." Raising his weapon, he kept the man's gaze locked with his as he fired two rounds into the back of the right knee of his adversary. "But you put a gun to Ali's head." Ignoring the rampant cursing that came from the howling man, he leaned in a bit closer. Despite the roar of the collapsing structure, he was sure that Corin could hear his whispered words. "Enjoy the rest of your life." Rising and kicking away the gun he had stepped on, Ashlee slid his pistol back into it's holster and ran for the exit.

* * *

Tiane's massive hand slapped across his back as he bent to catch his breath, standing on the hillside several hundred feet from the exit of the crumbling temple. Straightening after a moment, he nodded at the large man before looking over the group. "Everyone alright?"

"We're alive." Roth met his gaze, and he knew that the older man could see the uncertainty that was beginning to well up inside, the guilt and the fear of who he was now. "You did what you had to, to get us out."

"I'm not so sure."

Richard was looking back at the way they had came, sighing softly. "It's unfortunate we were unable to recover the disc."

"We weren't?" Ashlee pushed away the thoughts of what had transpired, grinning as he pulled the gold artifact from the pocket he had stashed it in, handing it to the old archaeologist. Everyone moved in closer, regarding the designs cut into the golden surface with a bright look in their eyes. He shared in the moment for a few seconds before backing up, tossing a glance back up the hill to the ruins they had escaped from. It worried him, how easily he had been able to leave that man in there, wounded and heading for a grueling death, as he thought back to Roth's words.

"_Some people just don't have a problem dealing with it.."_

* * *

The Endurance rose and fell gently with the waves, a motion that had become familiar in the previous two months Ashlee had spent aboard the ship. Looking up, he saw the statue with a raised torch, smiling as he read the inscription across the lady's book. New York was a sight he had never thought he would miss, but his partnership with Galeforth had made the place grow on him, finding the dirtier places of the city as close to home as he had found in years. "Y'know Graves, you've got a talent for finding trouble, but damn if you don't have the skill to back it up."

Turning, he found Conrad Roth and Richard Croft both watching him as he nodded. "Good way to make a living, I guess." His words brought a chuckle from both men as Roth took his hand, shaking it firmly.

"You ever get an itching for salvage work, look me up."

"Thanks, but the sea is your gig. I'll stick to honest thieving, on solid land." He met the older man's eye with a nod. "But if you ever need help, you know how to reach me." The old soldier released his hand, only to clap his shoulder before moving off, shouting something at the crew on the deck as they neared the dock.

Richard took his hand next. "Thank Quinn for allowing us use of your services. But, may I ask you another favor? One I could not pay you for."

"Of course, Croft." In the time they had worked together, Ashlee had come to respect the older man, finding he shared the fascination with the past and the unknown, even if he put much less stock in the myths of the world. There was also a strength about the archaeologist, a resolve to get the job done despite how gritty it got.

"If anything happens to me, I'd like you to keep an eye on my daughter." It was a subject the man spoke of often, and proudly; his daughter. The young woman had, by Roth's account, a keen mind and the same unquenchable desire for adventure that Richard himself possessed. The stories he had heard during the late nights in the galley had painted her as somewhat of a spirited girl, but she seemed like the type of person he could get along with famously.

"What, you planning on going somewhere?"

The soft chuckle that came from the older man was enough to steal the levity from the moment, and Ashlee knew that the request was a serious one, raising an eyebrow. "I'd just like to know Lara is taken care of, if I am not there."

"I think Roth would be able to handle that admirably, but.." He took the man's hand, nodding. "If anything happens to you, I can try to keep an ear to the ground for her. Try and keep her out of trouble."

Richard nodded, even flashing a brief smile, obviously grateful that he agreed to the request. "Yes, I'd prefer it if you didn't drag her into the type of business you do."


	5. Chapter 5 - The Ballad of Fang

**Author's Note: I had fun writing this chapter. It's shorter than I thought it would be..but, oh well. Length isn't everything. Special thanks to An Amber Pen for their continued support. Seriously, love you. Enjoy the read guys! -Foxinstrazt**

* * *

Chapter 5

**-The Ballad of Fang-**

_**Rio de Janeiro, Brazil**_

_**May, 2009**_

"How's the arm?" Tiane glanced over at him from across the table as he sat down with a new round of beers, sliding one over to his massive friend. Ashlee looked at the reddened skin around the swirling black ink that was now permanently marked into his skin, matching the tattoo that ran the full length of the other man's arm.

"Well it hurt, like three shots of Tequila ago." Smirking as he placed a boot on the tables edge to push himself onto the back two legs of his chair, he raised the bottle to his lips and took a long drink from it. He took a moment to look around the fine, upstanding establishment that they had found themselves in tonight. "I like this place."

The other man didn't seem to share in his enthusiasm, taking the beer from the table and shaking his head. "It's a dump, Graves."

"That is it's charm!" He laughed as he saw Ali in the corner, making no subtle attempts to disguise her intentions for the woman she was flirting with. "Tiane, it's such a dirty place, there are rooms with nothing but beds in them upstairs." Leaning forward, he placed an elbow on the wood of the table and pointed towards the ceiling.

The large man just sighed at him, tossing a glance their companion's way as well. "At least she's finally getting some time to relax." Alison had already taken the other woman by the hand and moved toward the stairs before she turned back and flashed a grin in their direction. Raising his beer in response, Ashlee gave a triumphant yell that drew the gaze of the other patrons in the bar.

Snickering as the two disappeared up the stairs, he look back at the man across from him. "I don't think she's gonna be relaxing."

* * *

The first feeling Ashlee became aware of the next day was the throbbing pain in the back of his head as he slowly stirred, feeling the wood chaff against his cheek before he picked himself up off of the surface of the table. Leaning back in the chair he had passed out in, he rested his head upon a closed fist, groaning as he tried to blink away the fog of sleep. The pain in his arm was explained as he opened his eyes and focused for a moment. "I have.. a tattoo? Ali.. Ali!" Shouting as he looked around the bar, finding it mostly empty now, he let his voice drop back down to a normal volume. "Why do I have a tattoo?"

No answer came as he discovered the source of the noise that had brought him to consciousness, the thundering beat of a rock song originating from his pocket. Pulling the cell phone out and flipping it open, he pressed it to his ear as he laid against his arm on the table. "Hola, go for Graves."

"Graves, I just got a lead on a job." Galeforth's voice came through the device in a way that shocked him to awareness, causing him to sit up and run a hand over his face. "I can have a plane at Santos Dumant Airport within the hour, is your team good to go?"

"A little hungover, but I can get them up." Sniffing to clear his airways of what the night had stored in them, he gave a small laugh. "Quinn, you know you gave us this vacation, right?"

"Sorry Ashlee, I need you on this one."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. I'll call you when we're in the air." Closing the phone, he pushed the chair back and rose to his feet, taking a moment to stretch his stiff limbs before stumbling towards the stairs. As he moved up the first flight and turned the corner, he saw Tiane against a wall, fast asleep with his head bent at an awkward angle. Chuckling loud enough it generated another throb in his head, Ashlee moved over and slapped the man's cheek gently, rousing him from his rest. "C'mon, get up big guy."

Ignoring the sounds of protest from the other, he walked down the hall, pushing open the various doors that lined the wall until he found where Alison had crashed for the night. "Ali! Hey, Terra! Get your ass up. We've got a job." The only response from his friend was a raised middle finger in his direction, the rest of her body obscured by the woman laying atop her. "Oh, that's.. That's sweet, you're a special girl."

Pushing off of the door frame with a grin, he moved to the room at the end of the hall, kicking the lid on the toilet up as he began to unbutton his pants. The same music that he had woke up to began to play again, and he was much quicker on answering it this time, flicking open the top and bringing it to his ear. "Go for Graves."

A panicked and familiar voice came through the receiver, but he couldn't place where he had heard it before right away. "Mr. Graves, I'm in Rio and need your help getting out of some trouble."

He gave a sigh, finally placing the voice. "Fang." He kept his tone teasing, despite the desperation in the woman's voice as he finished relieving himself into the porcelain bowl he stood over, using his free hand to zip his pants back up. "What's in it for me?"

The sound of gunfire coming through the phone sobered him pretty quickly, even before Fang cried out in pain before speaking again. "Bai tuo!"

Ashlee didn't need more than a few seconds to decide upon his course of action. "Where are you?"

* * *

Leaping from rooftop to rooftop in the favelas was a dangerous task in the best of weather, but the rain that was pouring down around him was not helping matters. The sound of gunfire had grown more frequent as he neared the woman's last known position within the city. Ashlee rolled to minimize the impact from the fall onto a lower roof, coming to his feet and pulling the pistol from where it was strapped to his chest.

He sprinted the length of the roof before dropping to a slide and coming off the edge of the structure to fall onto a balcony below, crashing through the window into the empty living room of the home. Shaking off the pain from his actions, he moved to the stairs, placing a hand on the railing and throwing himself down to the next flight, where he came face to face with a small Asian woman holding her bleeding side. "Fang?"

Ashlee tilted his head as the woman nearly collapsed into him, nodding breathlessly. He took her weight and aimed past her as he heard the pursuers footsteps, two men rounding the corner to the stairwell. They looked like local police, their weapons drawn and pointing in his direction as he fired down at them, felling them in three quick shots. "Alright, hold on. We've gotta move quickly." Pulling the woman up the stairs he had just come down, he moved to the balcony, helping her over the railing and lowering her until he could drop her safely to the ground below. Footsteps echoed up the hallway they had come from as he placed a hand on the metal bar and swung himself over, landing with a groan as he picked up his charge.

He took her down the alley and out into the streets, hurrying across the other side as a storm of bullets impacted the wall near them. Ducking into the nearest alleyway, he managed to throw Fang into the wall and cover her as another police officer fired at them. One of the shots hit him in the shoulder, throwing him off balance as he tried to spin and fire at the man. "Son of a bitch!" Before his attacker could finish him off, the man was slammed into the nearby wall by a huge shape. Tiane let him crumple before moving to pick up the woman they were attempting to save, lifting her like she weighed nothing and running through the narrow gap of the buildings.

As they moved to exit back onto the street, a hail of fire from the rooftops opposite them pinned them down. The automatic weapons were wielded by men who were not wearing any uniform, and the short glance Ashlee was afforded of them was telling enough about who was hunting Fang. Turning and kicking in the door to the side of him, he pulled Tiane in through behind him, moving just in time to see a round embed itself in the wall he had been standing in front of just a moment ago. "Fuck!"

He didn't think about his shot, falling into instinct as he fired across the room, clipping the man and knocking him down to the floor. Running between the furniture to get there in time to finish him off, Ashlee kicked the gun away from him before aiming down, the familiar features registering surprise as they looked up at him. "Raines?"

"Mac! ..You almost shot me." He waste no time on the reunion, aiming at the agent's head and pulling the trigger of his pistol. Without pausing to consider his actions, he took a quick glance out the window to see the other agents still on top of the roof across the street, waiting for them to show themselves.

An explosion rocked the area as the building their enemies were standing on was consumed by fire, throwing debris in all directions. It wasn't long after that a truck slid to a stop just outside the house they had taken cover in, prompting Ashlee to lead the other two out onto the street again. Tiane let Fang down and jumped into the bed of the vehicle, turning to pull the woman up. A shot rang out from behind, causing him to turn quickly and empty the remaining rounds of his magazine into the officer who had been unlucky enough to find them. Placing a foot on the top of the back tire and rolling into the back of the truck, he rose up and pounded his fist into the side of it as quickly as he could. "Ali, go!"

Glancing back through the gap where a window had once been placed, the woman shouted over the roar of the engines. "You're bleeding!"

"It's nothing! But we have to get Fang to the airport!" Ashlee turned and settled against the back of the truck's cab, taking a deep breath before looking over at the woman they had saved. She was clutching her side to stem the bleeding, but wasn't making much progress. "So, I'm Ashlee Graves. That's Tiane. And the.. uh, madwoman driving us away is Alison Terra."

Gritting her teeth for a moment, the small woman chuckled and looked over at him. "Liu Fang.. Ex-MSS. Nice to finally meet you."

* * *

It took a half hour to get to the private plane Galeforth had sent to collect them, and they were in the air only a few minutes after that. Ashlee kept his left arm tucked against his chest as he moved down the aisle, coming up on the table Alison was using to patch up Liu Fang. He shook himself to ward off the cold that was attempting to settle in from his drenched clothing. "So.. Fang, what happened down there, how'd you get Mac sic'd on you like a rapid dog?"

Groaning as Ali began to extract the bullet, the woman looked up at him. "Well, I found the name of the arms dealer who was dealing with MacIntyre and the French. ..Ow!" She looked down at the woman working on her, who just shrugged as she dropped the offending piece of metal into a bowl held by Tiane. "Anyway.. this, uh, gun runner went missing a year or so back, and so I sent the report back to my handler."

"And the CIA picked up on that." Ashlee's guess was met with a nod from the woman as Alison began to sew the wound together.

"I've kept tabs on you since France, and ran from Spain to here. The rest you know." Fang's words caused her to become more and more breathless as she worked to control not crying out in pain as she was attended to. The fact she had pulled such a gamble on the assumption he would help her brought him a small sense of satisfaction.

"So, you're no longer welcome back at the MSS?"

"No. They disavowed me as soon as I was discovered."

Sighing, he leaned against the table with his good hand, shaking his head. "Quinn's going to fucking love this."

Alison glanced up from her work. "So you want her to join the team, huh?"

"Wouldn't be hospitable to save her and only offer her a shitty patch job, would it?" His friend's look turned into a glare as he leaned back and pulled up his phone. "Assuming this is all good with you?" He looked down at Fang, who gave a weary nod before relaxing back onto the table with a soft groan. Bringing up his contact for Galeforth, Ashlee chuckled and shook his head. "Y'know, I think he might actually kill me for this one."


	6. Chapter 6 - The Daughter of Croft

**Author's Note: Short and sweet, basically an explanation of what he was doing at the bar in the first place. Also, him and Ali are fun to write together. Anywho, enjoy the read! -Foxinstrazt**

* * *

Chapter 6

**-The Daughter of Croft-**

_**Commercial Street, London**_

_**March, 2010**_

"I'm just saying, she's your age and very cute." Alison's voice came through the phone he held to his ear as he stepped past the various people milling about on the sidewalk. It was early, only just starting to near noon, and Ashlee had already grown tired of the constant rain in this city. They had arrived at the beginning of the month, forced to wait until now, two weeks later, to actually case the building they would be breaking into for Galeforth.

"Let me guess, this one's married too?" Sliding between a group of people that had stopped in the middle of the walkway, he chuckled, shaking his head at the memory of the last girl his friend had set him up with. "Because I don't think I'll survive another angry husband."

"I told you before, I didn't know she was married." The woman laughed on her end, the lie uttered so unconvincingly he could hear his other friends laughing along with her. "And no, she's not married. She's Romanian, likes to travel, and apparently has a fondness for knives."

"Meaning I'm probably going to get stabbed in my sleep, right?" His words drew a few looks as he walked past an elderly couple, grinning and nodding in their direction as he noticed the reaction. "Seriously, what's the catch?"

"There's no catch!" Ali cleared her throat, saying something away from the phone to one of the others on their end of the line before she returned. "Fang wants to know if the program is working."

"I'm just barely getting to the corner, hold your horses." He stepped onto the edge of the concrete, looking down the three streets that formed the intersection before spotting his destination. "So by 'no catch' you mean she's married, don't you?"

"She's got a boyfriend, alright? I talked with her half the night to find out she doesn't even swing my way, it was a total bummer."

Waiting for a lull in traffic before he crossed, Ashlee laughed as his suspicions were confirmed. "And..?"

"And he's big. He makes Tiane look normal sized."

He pushed open the door to the bar he had selected as his set up point. "You've really got to stop trying to get me killed. There's enough competition in that area already." He moved to the stool near the wall, setting the laptop he was carrying on the counter as he shook himself off in a failed attempt to dry. "Alright, I'm here, and.." Opening the computer, the screen flashed on to show the bar already listing progress on the download of the target building's security. "We're good to go. Looks like it'll take a while, but tell Fang I owe her a beer."

"What can I get for you?" Looking up, Ashlee blinked a few times at the familiar features. The girl, a young woman really, had brown hair that was gathered up into a ponytail, and eyes the color of chocolate. She was washing out a glass with a rag as she looked him over, and he had to consciously remember to close his mouth.

"Uh, just a beer, thanks." She gave a nod and a small smile as she moved down the counter to grab what he had ordered as he slowly raised the cell phone back to his ear. "Ali, you are not going to believe who is tending the bar here."


	7. Chapter 7 - The City of Wind

**Author's Notes: Alrighty, bit slow on the update this time because I've been working to finish the outline for Ashes of Time. Thank you again to An Amber Pen, who I should explain that I posted both of the last chapters within a few hours of each other, so no worries there. Also: Just got a new cover for this story that I made, I'd like to know what you guys think of it. If you like what you read, leave a review, otherwise.. Just enjoy it! Almost to the end of this fic, and I've really had a lot of fun writing this character. -Foxinstrazt**

* * *

Chapter 7

**-The City of Wind-**

_**Chicago, Illinois**_

_**September, 2011**_

Ashlee watched the pool slowly expand towards him across the table, sighing as the cold barrel of a gun was pressed closer to his temple. With his hands up, he looked over the body of the client they had been meeting, witnessing the final jerking movements of the man he had been talking to moments ago, forcing out the last of it's lifeblood before falling still. "Yeah, this seems about right."

"Quiet." The man pointing the weapon at him had a thick accent that indicated he was from Eastern Europe, Russia being the most likely candidate. Rolling his eyes, he tossed a glance to his left, nodding and smiling at the man holding Tiane hostage in the chair next to his. The door they had entered only a few minutes ago opened again, and a man strode in. He had a thick mane of brown hair that was cropped short and practical, like a soldier's. His eyes were a cold blue as they scanned him and his colleague.

The man was tall, taller than Ashlee, but built in a similar way. His accent wasn't as thick as the other man's, but was just as distinctive. "Your big friend is already familiar with me, but for you, I am Vasily Romanishkova." The shrug he threw the man's way did not endear him to the other, drawing a dry laugh. "You should be more careful with the company you keep, Mr. Graves."

Glancing at Tiane, it clicked for Ashlee as his mind linked the only connection it could in the situation. "So, the Russian mob knows my name? I'm flattered." He looked around the room with a grin. "Am I supposed to be flattered, because honestly it's just good to be recognized for my work." His words earned him a swift punch from the man who had a gun trained on him, bringing an ache to his right cheekbone as he straightened himself in the chair he was sitting in, shutting up with a growl.

The next laugh from Vasily was interrupted by the door opening again, this time introducing a smaller man. Greasy black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, causing Ashlee to raise an eyebrow at the look that was thrown his way, the man's eyes hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses. "Ah, Alexei."

"Vasily, why are you not home with your wife and daughter? I can handle this." Alexei gestured their way in a manner that left Ashlee the impression he was a little bit below taking out the trash on this man's priorities.

The man with the blue eyes took the briefcase containing their payment from the table, chuckling softly. "I do miss my gray-eyed beauties.. But, some things are better handled in person."

"Yes they are." Alexei looked to the men holding the guns. "Deal with them and leave the bodies, make sure you wipe the room down. Pin it on the pretty boy." The greasy man laughed and tilted his head in Ashlee's direction, prompting him to turn one of the hands he was holding up and lower all but one of his fingers. It only served to bring laughter from the two men as they left with the case, leaving him and Tiane alone with the two gunmen.

Looking at his friend, he let out a quiet sigh. "Just once. Once, for the love of fucking god, I wish a job would go smoothly." Tiane gave a slow nod before snapping into motion at the same time Ashlee did, spinning to grab at the gun pointed in his direction. Closing his fingers over the wrist holding the weapon, he raised his other hand to deliver a quick backhand to man who had hit him. A shot rang out in the small room, causing his ears to begin ringing as his arm exploded in pain. He spared a second to look at the tear that was now present on the flesh of his shoulder before noticing that the man he was fighting had ceased his struggle, sliding down against the wall with a new hole in his chest.

Turning, he saw Tiane smash the other Russian into the wall with enough force that he actually heard the bones crack within the poor man's body, the victim dropping like a sack of rocks as his friend collected the pistol. "Fucking hell, man."

The large islander's eyes scanned his shoulder for a moment before meeting his gaze. "You will live. Our payment?"

"Right." Glaring at his friend, he moved to open the door, clearing the room before stepping out in the warehouse he had chosen to conduct their business. "Alright, you go that way, I'll cut them off."

As Tiane ran towards the exit, he slowed and turned back. "How?"

Already running towards the stairs, Ashlee didn't pause as he shouted to the other man. "I'll think of something, just go!"

* * *

Crashing through a third story window had not been on his list of things to do today, but it happened anyway, his wild slide sending him flying through the air towards his destination. Catching himself on the railing of the fire escape, the entire structure shuddering as he felt the muscles of his arm cry out as they were torn from the exertion. Letting go, he dropped a level before catching on again, close enough now to the ground he could swing himself into the wall and use it to slow his descent to the street below. Landing with a growl of pain, he straightened and aimed the pistol he had torn from the grasp of the lackey that had been left to kill him, waiting for his targets to move around the only corner they could come from.

It did not take long, as he saw two men he did not recognize step out, followed closely by Vasily and his friend, Alexei. The former saw him first, his blue eyes going wide as Ashlee began to pull the trigger, emptying the magazine into the men who were in the lead, dropping both of them to the ground. Even as he fired off the first shot, he heard other rounds being fired from around the corner of the alley, signaling that Tiane had caught up with the mobsters as well.

Trapped between the both of them, Vasily seemed to decide that he was the easier target as he tossed aside an empty pistol, meeting the taller man's rush by ducking under the first punch and slamming his shoulder forward into his assailant's stomach. Despite the chaos of a fist fight, Ashlee could see Tiane throw one of the remaining Russians aside as he tackled Alexei to the ground, sending the briefcase skidding across the asphalt. As his friend handled the other two, he found his plate full with the older man fighting him.

Bringing both hands down on his opponent's wrist to deflect the expected blow, he raised a foot before kicking the other man in the knee, forcing him back. Ashlee wasted no time, running at the man and trying to shove him back against the brick wall behind him. Vasily was faster than he anticipated, regaining his balance and raising a foot to kick him in the chest before he could get close, the blow causing him to stumble back. As he did, the man Tiane had tackled ran by, clutching the briefcase to his chest as he made it to the alleyway and disappeared. "Alexei!" His adversary yelled out to the running man as Ashlee recovered, glancing down the street to see his friend fending off a knife from the mobster he was fighting.

Before he could even consider lending a hand, he was engaged again with a fist slamming into his stomach, doubling him over as he scrambled away from the attack that followed it. Straightening and raising one hand to block the incoming kick, he latched on to the man's ankle and shoved him back, giving a feral yell of aggression as he did. Taking advantage of the others lack of a proper defense, he sprinted forward, shifting his momentum at the last moment to swing a right hook into the side of the man's head, following through with his left hand into his gut. Not relenting his assault, he brought his knee up into the forehead of his enemy, throwing the man back.

Ashlee grabbed the other by his shirt and threw him down back into the middle of the street. "Graves!" Glancing, he saw Tiane disarm his opponent and toss the knife in his direction. Snatching it out of the air, he bent to grab the disoriented man that was only barely getting to his knees, pulling him to his feet. Twisting the arm he was holding to force Vasily's chest to be exposed, he reversed his grip on the blade before slamming it down in the mobster's body, watching the shock register on the man's face as his victim let out a scream of pain that faded into a pathetic whimper.

Ripping his weapon out, the arc of the pull created a rain of blood as he turned and hurled the dagger down the street. It buried itself into the back of the man Tiane had just turned into it's trajectory, making him drop as well as Ashlee slowly lowered his hands to his knees and began breathing heavily. His friend joined him, looking down at the body of the man who had interrupted their dealings with Galeforth's client. The sound of footsteps brought them both back to reality, turning to look towards the alleyway.

Alison stepped out, carrying the briefcase Ashlee had seen one of the Russians escape with. "So, I'm coming to help, because gunshots and what not.. And some guy runs right into me and drops this. Didn't even get a chance to shoot him, little pussy ran right off." Looking over the scene, the woman scoffed. "This is our payment, isn't it?" He couldn't do much more than laugh and nod in response to their good fortune as his friend shook her head in disbelief. "And the client?"

"Dead." Tiane's voice drew both their gazes for a moment before Ali continued.

"Goddammit. And who are these assholes?"

"Russian mob, apparently this is their part of town and they still want our friend here to be six feet under." Ashlee clapped a hand on the woman's shoulder as he walked by, taking the case from her with the other.

She looked over the bodies for a few more seconds before shrugging and turning to follow him. "You know you've been shot, right?"

Pointing a weary finger back at Tiane, he continued on towards the main streets and the car that was waiting to return them to the airport. "Take it up with him."


	8. Chapter 8 - The Daughter of Galeforth

**Author's Note: Short little piece I thought of while staring at the outline for what was going to be chapter 8. Hope you guys enjoy it, and a special thanks to the support of my three followers, and An Amber Pen for the reviews every time I post a new chapter, it's seriously more than I hoped for with this story. Thanks guys! -Foxinstrazt**

* * *

Chapter 8

**-The Daughter of Galeforth-**

_**Ashlee's Hotel Room, New York City**_

_**August, 2012**_

It was becoming far too common that Ashlee found himself stirring to the sound of his cellphone ringing, the same song he had set for it's ringer years ago blaring to wake him. Slowly turning his head to face the direction of the nightstand next to the bed, he reached out and snatched the phone from the table, taking a moment to look at the caller id before sighing. Flipping the phone open with his thumb, he pressed the device to his ear. "No. I'm sleeping. It's what normal people do when they get a few days off."

"I understand, but-"

"I don't think you do, Quinn."

"Graves, this is not a business call. I need a favor." Turning himself over in the bed, he heard someone knocking at the door, causing him to raise his head up before slamming it down into the soft pillow below with a groan. He slid off of the bed as the knocking continued, still holding the phone in his hand like he could throttle it in place of his employer.

"Alright. What do you need stolen, who do you need killed?" Wearing the same clothes he had fallen asleep in, he could still smell the stench of alcohol from last night, the odor seeming to be permanently washed into the worn jeans and stained t-shirt.

"It's nothing of that sort. I had a fight with my daughter earlier, and she stormed out of the house."

He chuckled as the voice came through the speaker. "Don't you have a security team for this?" Nearing the door, Ashlee paused to grab the pistol that was laying on a nearby table, right where he had left it after stumbling in a few hours before dawn.

His friend didn't seem to appreciate his mirth at the situation, sounding progressively more annoyed as he continued to jab at the man. "Look, I just need you to find Olivia. There are plenty of people in this city who would love the chance to get back at me.. And I don't trust my team to locate her in time." Lowering the phone for a second to pull open the door, he kept the gun leveled in the direction of the doorway, sighing as he saw the girl waiting outside.

Raising the device back up, he shook his head. "Yeah, Quinn, give me a second, someone's at the door." Pressing the cell to his shoulder, he looked over his visitor. Raven black hair was drawn back into a ponytail, and the puffy redness surrounding the gray eyes told him that she had been crying. Those same orbs were now widened as she eyed the weapon in his hand, filled with fear and obvious regret as she reconsidered her judgment in coming here. "Kid, go back home."

Despite the way he had answered her knocking, Olivia recovered quickly. "Can you talk?"

"I am talking." Shaking the phone in his hand, he stuffed the pistol into the back of his jeans with a groan as a few joints popped in protest of his actions. "To your father. Who seems to be quite worried about you."

"Please, Ashlee."

Chuckling softly, he shook his head for a moment before sighing, raising the phone back to his ear. "Quinn? Yeah, I'll find her for you, don't worry. Call off your dogs." Pressing the button to end the call, he closed the device and slipped it into his pocket, folding his arms. "Alright kid, you've got five minutes."

"I'm not a kid, I turned eighteen last month."

It amused him, the way she glared up at him in defiance over such a simple subject. "Right. Why are you here, Olivia?"

The young woman shifted her weight from foot to foot, clearly looking uncomfortable before she met his gaze, her words coming out fast enough that it took him a second to go back over them in his head until he actually understood what she had said. "I want to work with you and Ali."

Blinking, he leaned back and cocked an eyebrow. "Do you want breakfast?"

Olivia looked at him like he was crazy, stuttering over a half dozen words before asking something simple. "..What?"

"Breakfast. Because there is no way in hell I'm having this conversation in my doorway." Sniffing, he narrowed his eyes as he turned to grab the jacket hanging on the rack near the door, stepping past the teen and closing up his room behind him. "Come on, I know a place down the street."

* * *

"What kind of a bar has the ingredients to make pancakes?" The teen's words caused both him and the bartender to look at each other and laugh.

"The best kind, obviously." As the batter sizzled on the pan he had set on the stove, he raised a bottle to his lips and took a swig, savoring the taste of the beer as it dulled the hangover that had been coming on since he had opened his eyes half an hour earlier. Turning, he leaned against the kitchen's counter and look across the bar to the gray eyes that were glaring at him. "Oh, and Billy, no alcohol for this one. She's only eighteen."

The bartender, a big man who had somehow never lost any of his weight in all the time that Ashlee had known him, just chuckled as he moved off with the plate of food he had already been served. "So this is what you do when you aren't working for my father, make pancakes for Billy and drinking before noon?" Making no attempts to hide her contempt for the establishment she had been brought to, Olivia's tone only succeeded in bringing a chuckle from him.

"I make breakfast, he keeps the greasy food and alcohol coming throughout the rest of the day. It's better than playing babysitter on my day off." He set the beer down before turning and using a spatula to dish the pancake onto a plate, turning off the stove as he did. Collecting his drink before exiting the kitchen, he set the food down in front of the young woman, leaning on the bar. "Now, after you're done with that, I'm taking you back to your father, agreed?"

Sighing at him, Olivia stabbed the fork into the offered pancake, cutting off a piece before sticking it into her mouth. It took a few seconds before an expression of surprise overtook the one of disgust with him as she chewed and swallowed. "This is really good."

"I know. Now, you want to tell me why in the hell you want to be in our line of work?" The sudden shift in his mood threw her off balance, he could see it in the way she peeked at him as she took another bite. "I mean, Quinn told me you were heading to college for something.. Science."

Swallowing quickly, the girl gave a nod before correcting him. "Archeology. And I do want to do that, I just.. Father has never cared one way or the other what I do, and after I talked to Ms. Terra, what you guys do sounds so exciting." It made him chuckle, which meant that the teen took it as him not taking her seriously, feeling the need to explain herself. "Come on, you've been in how many countries in the last year? And you've got to actually touch some real pieces of history, I mean it's crazy how awesome that would be."

Ashlee shook his head, smiling as he heard his job described in the best possible way it could be. "I get that, I do. But the glamor of it all fades pretty quickly."

"What do you mean?"

He pulled the pistol from where it was tucked into his pants, dropping it on the bar. It caused a loud enough noise that the girl jumped, but he wasn't about to let guilt stop his argument. "Pick that up." Olivia looked at him for a long moment before looking at the gun, shaking her head. "Don't think, pick it up." Her hand flitted out towards the weapon, but paused, and he snatched it up to aim at her. "And now you're dead. That hesitation just now, it'll put you in the ground with what we do. This is why Quinn doesn't want you in this."

The girl across the bar resumed her glare after the shock of his display wore off. "I can learn."

"You can go to school and get a real job where it doesn't end in death or prison." His own pessimistic views on his life surprised him, and he found himself wondering when it had all changed, when he had decided that those were the only outcomes now. "I was around your age when I worked my first job, and a couple years after that I met Ali and your father. Do you really want to end up in a bar in the morning, pushing thirty, and regretting the choice you made?"

His words, meant to dissuade the girl, only served to make her more adamant on her stance. "This is what I want, something you and my father don't seem to understand."

Ashlee sighed, leaning on the bar and running a hand over the slide of his pistol as he fell quiet. "I do understand, believe me. Alright, here's the deal: You go to college, study..whatever it is you want, and you learn how to use one of these." He gestured with the gun before returning it to the back of his jeans. "And if I'm still alive when you graduate, and you still want to, I'll let you join my team."

"This is the best deal I'm going to get, isn't it?" It was hard to describe the effect of a Galeforth, but the fact she managed such a commanding tone while eating a pancake in front of him spoke volumes of the mannerisms she had inherited from her father. He chuckled, nodding as he tilted his head back to drain the last of his beer, dreading the hangover that was to come after putting it off. "So.. Why did you choose this life?"

Setting the bottle down on the counter, he tried to answer with a sarcastic statement, but he found himself drawing a blank. It may have been his inebriated state, but the inquisitive gray eyes seemed to demand an honest explanation. "My father was an alcoholic con man who enjoyed beating on my sister and me. The only skills he ever taught me were the ones I could use illegally, so this was a natural fit."

Olivia raised an eyebrow, as surprised by his bluntness as he was as she opened and closed her mouth a few times in search of something to say. "I'm sorry, I.. Didn't know."

"No one does, I don't do sob stories." He shook his head before taking the empty plate from in front of the girl and turning to place it on the other side of the divide that separated the bar from the kitchen. "That's why, this conversation never happened. I found you in Central Park, and you are not going to mention our deal to your father, yeah?" Pulling the phone from his pocket, he flipped it open and brought up Quinn's contact, his thumb hovering over the call button as he looked to the young woman for confirmation.

She still had an expression that told he she wanted to say something, but there was nothing left to say at that point. It took a few seconds, but she finally gave a nod of her head, allowing him to press the button and raise the device to his ear. "Good enough."


	9. Chapter 9 - The Cage of Graves

**Author's Note: The end is not far now. -Foxinstrazt**

* * *

Chapter 9

**-The Cage of Graves-**

_**Galeforth Tower, New York City**_

_**February, 2013**_

"I'm sorry, Conrad, but I need him for a job I have coming up. Otherwise he would be available for your expedition." Quinn raised his hand to beckon Ashlee further into the penthouse office, sitting behind the large mahogany desk in the center of the room. It was the throne to an empire, one that he had helped build over the last nine years. From stealing priceless artifacts and pawning them off to the next highest bidder, to putting a bullet in the competition, he had been the force that Galeforth had needed to push his company from the top of the pile to a place reserved only for gods of industry.

He had benefited too, finding his bank accounts filled with almost enough that he could retire if he wanted to. It had always been his goal, but now he found he didn't want to. He savored this life, from the rush of adrenaline in the face of danger that found him often, to the three friends he had made in his travels. They were more like family now, a replacement for the one he had left behind when he had entered this business. "And I'd gladly help out with the funding if I could allocate some away from the venture I'm currently planning. I'm sorry, Roth, you're on your own with this one."

Hanging up, his employer looked up as he slid into the chair on the opposite side of the table. "Let me guess, eighteenth century Spanish galleon loaded with riches on the bottom of the South American coast?"

"Some Japanese lost kingdom actually, apparently Croft's girl found some proof. Or.. Something." Rubbing his eyes, Galeforth leaned back in his leather padded chair, shaking his head. "Ridiculous sink of money, if you ask me."

"And how is that different from what we have been focusing on for the last year?" Ashlee quirked an eyebrow at the other man, earning only a shrug. "So, you wanted to talk?"

Quinn blinked a few times before nodding and sliding the papers on his desk around until he located what it was he was searching for. "Yes, um.. Here it is. I've been told by a reliable source that the scroll we are looking for was excavated during the Ming Dynasty."

Taking the page, he looked over it before shaking his head. "No, this is a military vault. Even if I could bring Fang with me into China, I'm not sure I could do this."

"I can bribe your way in, but it'll be up to you to get out." He stared at the older man, running it through his head before Quinn spoke again. "We're close, Graves, so close to finding what we need."

"Fine." Tossing the paper back onto the desk, he shook his head before standing and turning towards the doors. "I'll get Tiane and Ali working on it, have a basic plan for you by tonight."

"That will work. Thank you, Ashlee."

Without slowing his stride, he spoke louder to ensure his employer heard him. "It's what you pay me for, right?"

* * *

Repeatedly shaking his head and letting out small breaths of frustration as he moved down the hallway to the elevator, Ashlee tried to focus on calming himself. It didn't work, the tension of what Quinn was asking him to do only building as he smashed a finger into the button displaying an arrow pointed downward. He was distracted enough that he didn't react as quickly as he should have when he felt his shirt get pulled up and the gun tucked into the back of his pants pulled free. Turning to find his own weapon aimed at him, he wasn't ready for the playful look from the girl holding the pistol. "Ali! ..Dammit." Sighing, he reached out a hand to take it from her, only to watch her take a step back, laughing.

"Oh come on, Graves. How bad was that meeting that you let yourself get disarmed that easily?" Twirling the pistol on her index finger, his friend extended it to him grip first. "Seriously pathetic."

Taking it with a growl, he checked the safety before returning it to it's place. "Yeah? Well, fuck you. We've got a job to do."

"Thought so. And let me think.. You are, of course, having your doubts about us being able to pull it off, and have thus gone into full on brooding mode?" The playful look in the bright greens made him smile, as it always did when she got this way.

"Pretty much." He sobered quickly as the elevator dinged and opened, stepping inside with the woman. "But this is different, it's a military target in China."

"Damn, Fang is gonna be pissed."

Pressing the number to send them four floors down, he chuckled dryly. "Yep."

* * *

_**Sam and Lara's Flat, London**_

_**April, 2014**_

Running up a flight of stairs, Ashlee paused to look down at his watch, reading the time. It didn't fit right, not like his last one had. Like the rest of his belongings he had been carrying when he was arrested, it was long gone after the time he had spent in prison. The job had gone as south as he had predicted it would, with him and Tiane becoming pinned down after he had stashed the briefcase containing the scroll. With no other alternative, he had made the only move that made sense at the time, and bolted. Leading the authorities away from his friends, he had been backed into a corner shortly after, spending the next year or so in a cell for his efforts.

Leaning on the railing, he looked up to see his destination, moving to travel up the last steps before reaching the floor he wanted. He took a moment look over himself and run a hand along his chin, making sure that he was still dressed in presentable clothing and that the scruffy beard was truly gone. Walking forward, he raised a fist to knock upon the wood, but stopped. A year ago, he wouldn't have hesitated to drag Richard Croft's daughter into something like this, but the stories Alison had told him came to his thoughts.

"_I'd prefer it if you didn't drag her into the type of business you do." _

"Sorry, Richard." Sighing, Ashlee slammed his closed hand into the door three successive times, waiting. It took a few seconds before the sounds of footsteps could be heard on the other side of the wooden frame, and he checked the timepiece strapped to his wrist again as the locks were disengaged. _Still have time._ Finally, the knob was turned and the door swung inward a few inches only to be stopped by a chain attached to the wall.

A single eye, with an iris the color of chocolate, peeked out through the gap. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Lara Croft." Ashlee took a moment to truly study the young woman before him, from the ponytail draped over her shoulder, and the features that tugged at his memories. She looked almost the same as she did back in that bar, four years ago, but there was something different, something he couldn't quite put his finger on yet. Nevertheless, an unwilling smile pulled on his lips as he recognized her. "And here you are."

* * *

**Author's Note: This will be the end of Graves, as Ashes of Time is coming to a close as well. I'd like to thank An Amber Pen, who has followed and reviewed since the very beginning. It's the reason I continued on with this after receiving a rather underwhelming view count for the first couple chapters. The fact one person was reading and enjoying my OC's story was enough for me to keep going with it. Also a special thanks to hurtball123 and nsparky121, Graves' other followers, as well as the Guest who left the review. You guys are fantastic and I freaking love you all. Everyone else who has read this far: You're alright too, I guess. Kidding, you're cool! Hope you all have enjoyed the read, I've certainly enjoyed writing it. And to anyone who is wondering why I chose it, that's the song that Graves set for his ringtone. -Fox**

* * *

_No stop signs, speed limit__  
__Nobody's gonna slow me down__  
__Like a wheel, gonna spin it__  
__Nobody's gonna mess me round__  
__Hey Satan, paid my dues__  
__Playing in a rocking band__  
__Hey momma, look at me__  
__I'm on my way to the promised land_

_- "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC_

**-Epitaph to the Fallen-**

_**Agent Glen MacIntyre – Aged 38 – 1971 - 2009**_

_**Vasily Romanishkova – Aged 35 – 1976 - 2011**_

_**A tribute to the unnamed security guards, mercenaries, police officers, mobsters, and CIA agents that were harmed in the writing of this story.**_


End file.
